


Petrichor

by sempaiko



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Attempt at Humor, First Kiss, Headcanon galore, Hoth (Star Wars), LOTS of physical proximity alerts, M/M, Pining, Resolved Romantic Tension, Scenting, Sexual Tension, Some Fluff, Tauntauns, UST, Whump, being cute, everyone is horny on main, excessive use of karabast and kriff, kalluzeb - Freeform, proximity alerts, sexiness abound, tropes galore, yup
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:15:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23288374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sempaiko/pseuds/sempaiko
Summary: Hera had been sure both of their names had come up when command asked for two-person teams to go scout for potential sites for a new base. This would give them the alone time they needed to sort out their feelings, and maybe come back with a new home for the Rebellion in the process. She had a good feeling about this...
Relationships: Alexsandr Kallus & Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios, Alexsandr Kallus/Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios
Comments: 23
Kudos: 310





	1. Hoth Kallus

**Author's Note:**

> I've been wanting to write a sexy, trope-filled, headcanon heavy fic for a while. Of course, it takes place on Hoth, because it's my favorite. I was inspired by a fanart by the great Mamidlo on tumblr. After reading, I challenge you to go find it! I hope everyone enjoys this. I had a lot of fun writing it. I get so many of my headcanons from other authors and I want to say from my heart that I adore you all for enriching this ship into what is one of my all time biggest OTPs. This was not Beta'd and only lightly proof-read. Sorry for any mistakes.

~~~~~~~~~~~

It was all hands on deck when it meant trying to find a new secret base for the Rebellion. That was how Alexsandr Kallus found himself in a VCX-series scout ship jumping from system to system to find a world or moon habitable enough to house the fleet. He had proved his new loyalty long ago, but even he still found it strange the Rebellion picked him and only a few others in investigating the list the late General Dodonna had provided. 

There was an ache in his knee ever since he stepped up the ramp to the ship, and he rubbed at it absently as he glared out the window into the swirling hyperspace vortex.

"Your leg still bothering ya after all this time, Kal?" 

Kallus immediately stopped the movement and gave a side-eyed glance to his traveling companion, who had his large purple feet propped up on controls that were thankfully inert at the moment. He was the perfect embodiment of carefree confidence. How he wished he felt that way. "Yes  _ Garazeb _ , it still bothers me from  _ time _ to  _ time _ ."

"You're inna mood." The Lasat crossed his arms mockingly.

Kallus bit back his quick response of exactly  _ why _ he was in  _ a mood,  _ because it had a lot to do with how he was becoming increasingly aware of his attraction to his current mission partner and didn't know how to conduct himself. It was easy to ignore when they were around others and there were things to do, work to bury himself in. Hell, Kallus couldn't even recall when the last time they were truly alone with each other, not since Bahryn at least.

It wasn't Zeb's fault; his friend was probably blissfully unaware of his inner turmoil. Zeb was his normal, jovial and teasing self, while he was acting like a grouchy lovelorn asshole who couldn't help his frustration from bubbling to the surface. The constant dull pain in his bad leg also just exacerbated his  _ mood _ . 

He had a job to do, he had to  _ focus _ . His hand drifted to his leg again and ran his palm just above his knee, massaging the muscle.

"C'mon, lighten up, Kal. I've got a good feeling about this one."

"An uninhabited, Outer Rim _backwater_ with a dangerous asteroid field surrounding it? _Good_ _feeling_ indeed." 

There was a stretched silence after that as Kallus flicked a switch on the control panel needlessly; anything to keep him from snapping anymore at his friend. He was beginning to think they had more tension now than when they had been enemies. 

"What's  _ really _ bothering you, Kal?" Zeb asked, his words uncharacteristically careful. Kallus chanced a meaningful glance at the former Guardsman. He opened his mouth, unsure of what was going to spill out; just that he had to say  _ something _ . 

Kallus had never been more grateful for a hyperspace alert in his life. An alarm blared and flashed a few indicators on the panels. The stars dragged and shifted into place and a bright planet came into view. 

"That it?" Zeb leaned forward in his seat, his feet coming off the dash.

"Yes. The Hoth system. The sixth planet right there should have breathable air." Kallus frowned as they approached closer to said planet. The preliminary scans ran across the dash, but he didn't need to read them to see he already disliked the planet. He gave an undignified scoff and was moments away from cursing, but Zeb beat him to it.

"Karabast! The princess never said anything about it being a big ball of ice," Zeb growled. 

"In her defense, she probably didn't know. The list of possible systems from Dodonna was nondescript, not to mention  _ covert _ ." Kallus sighed and hit the controls a little harder than normal, looking back at the readings as they settled into orbit. "Even at the equator, the temperatures are dangerous, especially at night. I can't get any accurate life signs either, something keeps interfering with the sensors."

"So there could be giant  _ ice lizards _ down there?" 

"They were  _ called _ Bonzami, and  _ no _ . If anything that big was lurking in any caves they would have shown up on the sensors."

"But you said the sensors are malfunctioning."

Kallus tipped his head to the side as he quietly assessed the data streaming in on the dash; inconsistent. Zeb was right. "We are going to have to get a closer look anyway, see just how cold it is in person and if there are any caves large enough for a base. Also we need to find a flat enough terrain for an airfield. And if that means battling more Bonzami while we do all this, then that's what we'll do." 

Zeb gave an unsatisfied grunt. "I know what we  _ hafta _ to do, but it doesn't mean I like the idea of freezing my butt off on another ice moon with you."

"Planet. Ice  _ planet _ ." Kallus willfully ignored the pang of hurt that flashed inside him at Zeb's ' _ with you'  _ comment. Why had he volunteered so vocally when Kallus was assigned to scouting duty if he didn't even want to be around him?

"Planet. Whatever. I was kinda hoping for somewhere warmer. Sandy beaches or somethin' ya know?" Zeb's ears danced at the prospect, smirking at him. Kallus rolled his eyes.

"The goal is to find somewhere people  _ wouldn't _ want to go." He shook his head and glared at the readings again. 

"Just trying to get you to loosen up a bit. When's the last time you had a bit of r&r, Kal? A day off?"

"There is a galactic  _ war  _ going on! No one has time for r&r or  _ days off _ ." He crossed his arms, exasperated. 

"You're not Imperial anymore, remember? You can take breaks and you still need to take care of yourself. What's got ya so worked up?"

" _ Galactic war _ ," he repeated with heat, his crossed arms tightening against his chest as he balled his hands into fists. Really, what was Garazeb getting at to-

"Whew, I see now why everyone's been saying you need to get laid," Zeb grumbled. 

Kallus blinked. Had he really just heard that? He slowly moved just his head to send a death glare to his companion. "Ex- _ cuse _ me?" 

"Okay not  _ everyone _ ! But enough that I had to hear it from people I've not even met before. I wasn't supposed to say nothin' bout that but I-"

"Whether I'm having sex or not would not effect my work or duties so why it should be  _ anyone's _ business but  _ my own _ is a profound mystery to me!" Kallus punched at the controls and switches, readying the ship to break orbit and enter the atmosphere. 

Zeb was quiet, but he could tell the Lasat was bursting to say more. All Kallus had to do was look at the way his ears twitched low against his head. He seemed to be struggling with something to say, looking more embarrassed than  _ he _ was, which was saying something.

"Kal-"

"Is that what forced you to want to come with me on this mission? You thought what -you'd help me out with this dilemma of mine?" 

"Yeah, maybe! And no one forced me, I wanted to come and  _ be _ with you. Just you. Just  _ us _ !" Zeb's voice had risen quite loudly in the small cockpit after his silence. "Karabast! I'm not good at this. I'm messing it all up, aren't I?" The question seemed more aimed at himself than at Kallus. He avoided eye contact.

_ Hold on… _ Kallus' mind began to go over all the sudden information that had been dumped haphazardly onto the rickety metaphorical table called his sanity. 

It was because of this reason he wasn't just a hair faster at noticing the proximity alarm before it began to blare loudly overhead. 

There were a few dings against the hull before the real barrage started. Fiery streaks flashed across the viewport and the ship began to pitch with the impact against the shields. 

"Meteor shower!" Kallus exclaimed as he flew his attention to the controls. 

"No kidding!" Zeb was activating his own support controls from the copilot's seat.

They were already on a mid-approach vector in the atmosphere; too dangerous to abort and bounce back out, as that would be directly in the path of the bulk of the objects. Kallus needed to speed their descent. 

" _ C'mon _ !" Zeb banged the top of the controls, as if that would hurry them up. It was an older ship but reliable, as most everything in the Rebellion was. 

Kallus almost scolded the Lasat, but was busy concentrating as he steered the ship through the atmosphere at an angle any experienced pilot would reprimand him for. He was skimming it close, but still safe. He hoped, at least. A creaking whine began and the rattling of the ship increased.  _ Shit _ ...

"What are you  _ doing _ ?!" Yelled Zeb.

"The meteors should mostly break up in the atmosphere. Best way to go is down fast and hope they all disintegrate on entry to the planet." 

" _ We're _ going to disintegrate on entry to the planet!" Zeb was fiddling with the shields, distributing the forward and aft where appropriate and making sure the inertial dampeners were at max. Kallus was busy focusing on keeping them from being torn apart while also trying to avoid as many larger meteors that showed up on the scopes. 

When the ship finally broke the atmosphere it was on the dark side of the planet and amidst a turbulent storm. Visibility was low and Kallus had to try to extrapolate the readings for any obstacles, which was difficult considering their haywire sensors and rapid speed. Snow and ice and wind pelted the ship as it careened through the air blindly. 

" _ Kal _ ! We should maybe think of  _ stopping _ !" 

"Trying to,  _ Zeb _ !" Kallus was pulling with all his strength on the control handles to get their pitch up. Otherwise, he was sure they were going to crash headfirst into the snowy ground at any moment. 

Zeb bolted from his seat and wedged himself around Kallus' body so both his arms bracketed his own, hands encompassing his. The extra strength was welcomed, but the position was sure to be bad if they crashed and Zeb was out of his seat. 

Kallus didn't have time to warn Zeb of this fear before the sky cleared for a split moment to reveal a jagged mountain tip. They both yelped and threw the ship into a roll away from it, but were too late as the back of the ship smashed into solid ice and knocked them into a tailspin towards the snowy surface of the planet. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Kallus blinked his eyes open and noticed everything was dim. The second thing he noticed was a ringing in his ears and a muffled silence. Then there was pain…  _ everywhere _ . He wanted to scream and wail with the intensity but his throat felt closed up, like something was pressed against it. 

The burning in his lungs made him flail in a panic to shove the obstructing object from his throat and chest. His hands touched hard metal and he pushed it away, gasping for breath and trying to orient himself with what was up again. The movement drained his energy and he collapsed and closed his eyes, everything getting fuzzy after that for an unknown amount of time. The pain throbbed until blackness took him. 

When he drifted back to lucidness, he felt a warm and gentle hand on his face and head. He felt it brushing over his features, soothing steady fingers against his brow and pulse point and then to the back of his neck. His head suddenly felt like it was on a very ergonomic plush pillow. He wanted to go back to sleep. 

"Alex?" A deep and familiar voice asked, a twinge of fear behind it. " _ Alex _ ?"

Strange, he had never called him 'Alex' before. It was nice. It was then that his mind began to flood with what he could remember. Even with all the panic and fear rushing through him, he felt a good, heavy relief that Zeb seemed okay. 

"My Alex,  _ please _ say something," Zeb implored and even with a head injury Kallus noticed the possessive adjective. But there were more pressing matters, like the struggle to open his eyes.

"We've stopped," he said cheekily, even if his voice was strained and raspy.

His companion growled. "You're  _ so _ lucky you're hot. Don't scare me like that again. You've bumped your head, looks like."

"Explains the headache." He finally opened his eyes and focused on Zeb's face above him. His expressive features showed concern and relief. 

"I don't think you broke anything. Can you move?" 

Kallus wiggled his toes and shifted both knees. His right knee, the bad one, sharply reminded him of his old injury but no more than a warning. Fingers all moved and he was able to ball his fists and lift one arm at a time. He made a deep breath in and out, no sudden jerks of pain meant no broken ribs which was surprising. 

Using all his strength, he pushed on the ground with his palms and began the great effort of sitting up. Zeb immediately helped him, the hand still supporting his neck and head pulling gently. The other tucked behind his shoulder and angled him up closer to his own body, as if to encourage that he would lean on him if he needed it. He was dizzy for a moment, but steady enough to breathe a sigh of relief. 

"Nothing appears broken…  _ this _ time." Kallus managed a small smile to reassure him and Zeb returned the gesture. His large hand still gripped at the back of his neck, a thumb on his jaw. The other hand slipped down to his bad leg and rubbed circles over the knee. Kallus fought to concentrate amongst the intimacy.

"Let's try to get you to stand now, yeah?" Zeb offered.

Kallus nodded and soon he was fully up, with Zeb's help and a lingering arm on his back. He looked around but everything was… upside down. There was dim emergency lighting still illuminating enough to make out everything in the small area, but the main viewport was obscured by snow. 

Besides the increasing chill, there actually didn't seem to be any hull breaches, which was quite a feat, he thought. Perhaps the snow had cushioned most of their fall. They had definitely hit something solid though, and maybe the exterior damage was worse than the interior. 

Things inside looked mostly tossed around and only a few of the bulkheads and their compartments had sprang free, explaining the debris that littered the floor, or the roof if he was being accurate. 

Kallus looked back to Zeb, giving him a full body inspection. His fur was ruffled a bit, and a few small gashes with already dried blood marred his arms. His attire looked a little burned, had there been sparks or a fire? He couldn't remember. "You're not hurt?"

"Nah, takes more than a little crash to slow me down. You should know that.” Zeb replied as he rolled his arms to show himself in full working order. Kallus couldn't say he could do the same at the moment. All his muscles now felt strained and weak. 

"There was nothing  _ little _ about this crash.  _ We _ are  _ upside down _ ." 

"Yep. Looks like I'll need to show off some Lasat dexterity to get up to the control panel." 

Zeb grabbed Kallus by the waist and began to assist him in backing up out of the way. Completely unnecessary, Kallus thought, but when his back gently hit the side of the ship, heat rose to his cheeks and despite his injuries, he couldn't help the way his insides fluttered at the whole gesture. Zeb lingered for a beat longer than appropriate. 

"I don't want the chair to fall on ya in case I knock it loose while I'm up there," Zeb explained, as if that was the reason he was leaning in so close. 

"I know, Garazeb." Kallus hoped he sounded normal and unaffected by the way Zeb's hands still held him at the waist. 

"Just don't want that pretty head of yours to get hit again,  _ Alexsandr _ ." 

_ Kriffing hell _ , did Zeb  _ know _ what he was doing to him when his name rumbled from his throat in that deep purr? He was teasing him, surely, but it didn't mean he didn't secretly enjoy it. 

Zeb pulled away and Kallus watched as the Lasat gripped at the control panel above him, his massive arms bulging as he then swung his legs up to grip the pilot's seat. Strong legs shook the chair to make sure it was stable enough and then he used his feet to climb and hoist his body so he was hanging from the floor and bottom of the chair. It looked strangely natural for Zeb to be working like that.

He fiddled with the controls a moment and grunted when nothing powered on at first. Kallus squinted up and left his place on the wall, despite all the care Zeb had taken to place him there away from danger. 

"What'd I say about that pretty head?" Zeb said as Kallus approached. He rolled his eyes at his companion, who seemed frustrated enough to start banging at the top of the controls again. 

"It seems you need my pretty head here, unfortunately."

The VCX scout fighter was a small ship but roomy with lofty storage compartments, usually to hold emergency ammunition, provisions and droids. Because of this, it had high ceilings, even in the tapered front of the cockpit. Kallus was tall for a human and thus could come face to face with Zeb from above, but wasn't tall  _ enough _ to even hope to get to the controls from his place below. 

"Main power is down. Must have been damaged in the crash. You need to switch to the auxiliary line  _ manually _ . It's that switch there, then connect that wire to the auxiliary panel there," he directed. 

Zeb followed the orders with only a few adjustments to his footing at the base of the chair. There was a whir of electronics powering up and the normal lights flickered back on.

Then the ship promptly rose and flipped right side up again. 

Kallus wasn't proud of the cry of distress as his stomach bottomed out and gravity rolled him through the air. He fell right into Zeb's lap, caught bridal style in his arms in the cockpit's chair. His muscle memory reminded him of Bahryn and he braced for Zeb to throw him up and off. 

"I've got ya." Arms shifted around him and Kallus relaxed when he wasn't thrown off. In fact, he was held tighter. 

"Thank you. Now, let's see what kind of damage we've sustained." Kallus swiveled and Zeb eased his legs down first between his own. He could have gotten up and insisted Zeb take his normal spot in the co-pilot’s seat, but instead he was feeling a bit brave and stayed seated in the very comfy lap he had landed in. Besides, he told himself, the co-pilot’s terminal was not powered up, as the auxiliary power only fed into the main controls. Zeb was needed right where he was, being an oversized seat warmer he had no intention of leaving, especially with the cold continuing to seep into the ship.

The auxiliary was strong enough to power up the systems, but only the vital ones it seemed. Diagnostics were down, that meant they had to do them manually, and then there was the question of where main power was. 

The ship tilted a bit where it hovered above the ground, a strong wind jolting it from side to side. An arm wrapped around his waist and he felt a hand rest high on his thigh. He still couldn’t make anything out but snow and wind from the viewport; the night sky dark and obscuring anything from sight. 

Kallus frowned, the weight of the situation heavy in his gut. “There’s  _ no _ main power. It’s like we’re...  _ kriff! _ ” He quickly punched the controls to settle the ship down and cut the engines.

“What is it?” Zeb asked over his shoulder, his chest coming into contact with his back as he leaned over him to see what he was seeing. The lights dimmed back into emergency mode. 

“The main fuel pod. It’s either completely drained or  _ missing _ .”

“Missing?” 

“We hit something before the crash. It either made us leak all our fuel or caused the entire fuel pod to come off.” 

“Which is worse?”

“They’re both bad, but if the pod is intact, we have a hope of getting out of here, pending the rest of the ship’s functions. This series of fighter was designed to take a lot of impacts and eject the jeopardizing fuel pod during any compromise to the integrity of the ship, so the main compartment could then act as an escape pod. Very unique to this VCX model only.” Kallus sank back into his makeshift ‘seat’ and ran a hand through his hair, wincing when he passed by a large bump. Head injury. Right. 

“So you’re hoping it ejected it and that it is sitting out there somewhere in the ice and snow?”

“Yes. And preferably intact. I shut down the ship because we’re dangerously low on power. If we hope to survive the cold, we need to reserve all the energy we have and put it into repairs and keep life support to the bare minimum.”

“Agreed. We have cold weather gear in this thing?” 

“Of course. I always come prepared,” Kallus quipped, even if he was lying a bit. He felt wholly  _ unprepared _ for the way Zeb was acting around him. Could he want something more like  _ he  _ wanted something more? Kallus  _ had been  _ fully prepared for his infatuation to be  _ one sided, _ but…

Why had Zeb picked  _ now _ of all times to show an interest? Kallus was almost pissed at the fool Lasat. He was angry and frustrated before and now he was just as bad with a glimmer of hope on the horizon that Zeb was also attracted to him. He was a right mess at the moment, he didn't deny. 

"Alright. Let's see about this fuel pod," Zeb said and stood. He was sure to keep Kallus' body molded against his the entire way up. Kallus imagined a scenario where he was bent over the console and then promptly tried to  _ unimagine _ it. 

_ Get a grip and focus, Alexsandr Kallus! _ He told himself harshly, biting the inside of his cheek. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

The cold weather gear had been jostled in its compartment but they were still able to pull out a couple flightsuit-looking pieces of apparel in an off white color. Kallus zipped up his full body suit, which fit over his regular shirt and cargo pants. Gloves, shoes and ridiculous hat were separate and by the time he was finished and attaching his blaster to the built-in holster, he noticed Zeb having issues. 

"This thing is too small!" He growled. Kallus had packed the largest one he could find last minute, not having time to get it fitted for a Lasat's body. "I don't think I'll need it. I survived Bahryn just fine with only a meteorite and  _ you _ ."

"While you have me, we are missing the meteorite as a heat source. And it is a great deal  _ colder _ than Bahryn, especially in the middle of the night and during a storm." 

"Fine. I think it'll mostly fit, just won't zip all the way. And my feet definitely won't." 

Kallus nodded and pulled a knife from his boot. He grabbed the bottom of the jumpsuit and slit the tapered leg ends on each side so they were open enough for his large feet. 

Zeb laughed. "Alright then!" He slipped the jumpsuit on with only minor resistance with his existing clothing and true to his thought, couldn't zip it but to the start of his chest. The arms and legs looked tight but loose enough for movement. He was putting on his armored pieces over everything when Kallus grabbed a large grey scarf from the gear compartment. 

He approached Zeb and flung the scarf around his neck and tied it at the front, covering the gap in the jumpsuit where it wouldn't zip.

"There. Don't want that pretty fur of yours damaged." Kallus nearly winced. Of course when  _ he _ tried to flirt he sounded like an idiot; that didn't even make sense. 

"Yeah and your  _ pretty head _ will be nice and protected by this  _ ugly  _ thing." Zeb tugged on one end of his earflaps. 

"You could wear one too," Kallus said with a smirk.

"And let my ears get squished? Nah." 

"Okay, but don't complain about them once we get out there." Kallus grabbed the macrobinoculars, hooking them to a clip at his waist, and headed to the back airlock. 

"Yes dear," Zeb teased behind him, snapping his bo-rifle back in place. 

Kallus’ smile faded when they reached the first airlock door and Zeb had to force the doors open manually. They were hit with a blast of cold air and when he was able to step into the airlock bay fully, he noticed that the rear door was damaged, a huge gash near the bottom. There was already snow and ice accumulating all through the airlock. 

“That’s not good,” Zeb said matter-of-factly. 

“As long as we don’t have to dock in space, we should be fine. But it will all depend on how much power we will have to spare to the shields.” Kallus steeled himself for more cold when he and Zeb took flanking ends at the rear door and pried it open. 

Even if it seemed like the storm had died down a bit, snow and ice were still being carried on a bone-chilling wind, immediately pelting their bodies and exposed faces. Kallus was thankful for his ugly hat. 

Kallus inspected the back of the ship as best he could. The whiteness of the snow helped lighten things in the dark, but the lack of any visible moonlight amongst the storm clouds kept everything dark enough to obscur. The small wings also seemed relatively intact, tucked up along it’s sides. That was good. There also didn’t appear to be any other breaches to the integrity of the ship. The meteors had left several scorch marks and dents but didn't look like anything worse than that.

He then followed the gash from the airlock’s outer door to the side and what he found confirmed his suspicions. 

“I’m guessing that big square hole is where the fuel pod goes?” Zeb trudged through the snow from the front of the ship and rested an arm on the outer edge of the ship.

"Indeed,” Kallus replied loudly, having to compensate for the howling wind. 

He came up close besides the Lasat and studied the hole for any structural damage. Other than a small overlap of the path of the gash, he actually thought everything seemed alright and it had simply ejected itself. Now, the question was if it had ejected itself  _ safely _ . 

“Okay, let’s see if we can spot this thing. Which way did we crash in from?” Zeb asked, his voice also louder amidst the wind. 

Kallus squinted, snow tickling his eyelashes, and scanned what he could see of the horizon around them. “From there!” 

He pointed to a steep hill, which had seemed much more tall and ominous and mountainesque when they had almost crashed into it. It was hard to judge the exact distance, but he would guess it was a couple hours walk to it, depending on the weather and terrain. 

He pulled the macrobinoculars up and scanned the area with the tallest hill. He couldn’t see anything show up in the dull tint of the display at first, until he switched to thermal imaging. The pod would have a faint heat trail, more especially if it was damaged and leaking. 

A small blip of yellow wavered to the far left of the hill. He was relieved until he saw a few more yellow blips scattered across the display when he tried to focus in more. 

“Kriff,” he muttered, but Zeb still heard him 

“What?”

“I don’t think we’re alone on this planet. Thermal imaging suggests our pod may be over there… with something  _ else _ throwing heat.”

“Ice lizards!”

“Too small for  _ Bonzami _ .” 

“Lemme see.” 

He handed Zeb the macrobinoculars and watched as he looked through them with his large, luminous green eyes. Zeb hummed in agreement. 

"Something's interfering with it too, but worth checking out if it's our lost fuel pod." Zeb brought the macrobinoculars back down and glared at the spot on the horizon. "Gonna get a different angle."

Zeb then began to climb the small fighter, his feet sliding on slick ice as he reached the top. Kallus' mouth gaped and he almost didn't have time to worry for his friend's safe ascent. "You're going to hurt yourself!"

"I've heard  _ that _ before!" Zeb exclaimed as he looked through the macrobinoculars again from the higher spot. 

"Doesn't make it any less true!" Kallus watched as Zeb looked toward the hill, adjusting the settings. Kallus followed his line of sight and then his gaze wandered back to the Lasat perched precariously on the roof of the ship.

One foot was holding onto a jutting piece of metal, keeping his body steady amid the cold gusts whipping around them. He looked like some daring, handsome explorer, his scarf flapping in the wind and everything like an adventure holo. He even had the tapered waist, sculpted muscles and facial hair of all the heroes he used to read about when he was a kid. 

He used to think he wanted to  _ be _ that archetype, even tried to model his look after them to an extent, but found that ever since a certain Lasat waltzed into his life, that ideal shifted to traits he found attractive in potential partners. It should have been no surprise he would fall for the catalyst that started it all. 

The covert admiration was cut off when Zeb jerked the macrobinoculars from his eyes and his head shot around and looked behind him, his arm going over his shoulder to start grabbing for his bo-rifle. The move startled Kallus, and he too instinctively reached for his own, which he hadn't had in a long while now. His hand settled on his blaster instead, that he  _ did _ have. 

"Do you smell that?" Zeb asked, his features hard focusing on the other side of the ship, hand still hovering over the end of his bo-rifle. 

Kallus' nose was cold and he couldn't feel it. The only thing he could smell was stinging moisture gathering against his face. "No!"

"Just got a whiff of something'  _ not right _ . Gone now." Zeb crouched and did a mini vault back down to the ground, his feet crunching into the snow under his weight. He still looked tense and bothered. "Let's get back inside."

Kallus nodded and he trudged back to the outer door, hand still at his blaster. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

They had agreed to attempt the fuel pod retrieval once the sun rose and temperatures were not as dangerous, so the rest of the evening was spent working on the ship from within. They still had little to no power, so keeping on the snow suits made the work in the cold ship comfortable but not ideal. Kallus went sans the gloves and hat, though, as a lot of the work needed the extra dexterity. Also the hat was uncomfortable. Zeb kept the scarf on, which made Kallus internally cheer. 

"How much longer will the night last you think?" Zeb asked besides him, yawning loudly while using a small welder to replace a piece of paneling that got knocked loose near the viewport. The storm had died almost to a stop, and just the faint whoosh of a wind gust every now and again would whistle against the ship. 

"Maybe 7 more hours? Not sure our exact spot on the planet without powering up another system we can't afford to right now." 

Kallus stifled his own yawn, exhaustion piling itself onto his already waning energy. The work was tedious but necessary if they wanted any chance of leaving this planet intact. Kallus plugged in the portable portable power cell into another system in the cockpit, feeding just enough juice to check on the hyperspace nav system. 

Kallus sighed. “I wish Chopper were here. We should always have a droid on board. Things would go a lot faster." 

There was a clatter as Zeb suddenly stopped his welding and spun him around and cupped his face in two large hands, thumbs brushing the top of his sideburns in a gentle caress. He was showing genuine concern. "You must have hit your head  _ hard _ , Kal.  _ No one _ wishes for Chopper."

Kallus felt his face flush and he quickly batted away from Zeb before he could see his reaction. "I'm fine, and that droid has continually shown resourcefulness where other droids do not." 

"Seriously, we're getting your head checked out by a doc when we get back." Zeb scooped up his welding tool from the ground and went back to work.

"If you insist," Kallus relented, agreeing to that too quickly, he noted. 

"Maybe then you'll take a break and rest."

Their earlier conversation before the crash krept back, speeding his heart rate and he didn't know if he was more angry or embarrassed about recalling what had been said. It was probably a good mix of both, if he was honest with himself.

"I wouldn't mind taking one with you, y'know. I've got a real comfy shoulder to rest on," Zeb offered with a slightly cautious voice, then added, "among other things."

The innocent daydream of a lazy, warm afternoon with his head resting on a strong purple shoulder quickly tilted horizontally. Quite literally. Now his imagination was all too happy to supply an image of being sprawled across a heaving purple  _ chest _ , nothing innocent about it. It was all very inappropriate for the time and place. 

"Stop distracting me," he said under his breath.

"I'm big and purple. I distract." He shrugged and held up his hands in mock surrender, dangling the welding tool between two fingers. Kallus didn't look at him but his lips twitched in amusement at his companion; he did indeed distract with those qualities  _ and _ more.

There was a long stretch of them silently working until Zeb finished his welding and set the tool down and leaned against the console that he was working at. 

"What I tried to say before the crash…" Zeb began, sounding hesitant. Kallus set down his own tools and watched him rub at his neck and head nervously. "I came on this mission to try and show you that I… that we could uh… if you wanted...  _ karabast _ ! I'm just gonna say it! I want to be your mate!"

Kallus blinked once in response through Zeb's entire struggle and final declaration. He let the weight that was coiled tight in his shoulders release and he took the tiny step through the small space between them and rested his forehead into one of Zeb's pectorals with a heavy thunk and closed his eyes.

"Is that a yes?" 

"You didn't ask anything," he said and leaned into the fabric that covered the muscle and fur underneath. He'd much rather nuzzle into that than the course material. 

"I had a whole speech planned." Zeb deflated a bit but brought a hand up to cradle the back of his head, fingers gently carding through his golden locks there, careful of the bruised areas. "You make it hard to be all eloquent and stuff." 

"Best leave that to me then," Kallus said and practically melted into the floor when Zeb encircled him into a full embrace. He had almost forgotten what a full hug like this felt like. He settled his head on the scarf at Zeb's chest and wrapped his own arms around him. 

"So that  _ is _ a yes." 

"You still haven't asked anything." Kallus enjoyed the playful growl that rumbled from the chest his ear lay against. "What does being your  _ mate _ entail, exactly?" 

"Being more than friends, for starters."

"Exclusivity," Kallus added. 

"Of course. A real relationship. Be together, be there for eachother. All that good stuff." Zeb rubbed a hand up and down his back. 

Kallus was already exhausted from their whole ordeal so far, and even with the excitement of starting 'a real relationship' with Zeb, the comfort he so suddenly was granted made him want to just curl up and sleep. Preferably with a certain someone. 

Zeb's hand squeezed into his hip lightly, just a gentle tease. "Sex too." 

Kallus snorted.

"Hopefully. If you're into that, that is!" Zeb added hastily. "I'm pretty open. I just wanna  _ be _ with you mostly. I wasn't sure I was your type, y'know? If you had a type."

"I've come to realize you are most  _ definitely _ my type, Garazeb," Kallus said with a chuckle. "And I would be  _ very _ into that."

He looked up into Zeb's luminous eyes, the energy between them charged and ready to combust. It was Zeb who broke first, pressing his larger lips tentatively against his. It was a bit  _ different _ at first; Kallus had never kissed anyone outside his own species before, and even then it had been  _ years _ ago. The Lasat's mouth was also much bigger than he was used to, even if he was holding back, probably unused to the act himself. Kallus angled his head more to delve deeper, Zeb following suit, shifting his arms to lift him that fraction higher. Then Kallus felt that searing fire in his belly intensify as they quickly learned a passionate rhythm. 

"This is a  _ yes _ , by the way," Kallus breathed against his lips when they finally parted for air, "to that question you never quite asked me." 

"Good," Zeb said as they rested their foreheads against one another. 

Then the emergency power shut off as the very last of the energy drained away. They were blanketed in darkness, the only trace of light was a faint shine from the white snow against the viewport and the portable powercell's operating lights. 

Kallus thought it was funny how both of them sagged against each other at the same moment, the situation a physical weight upon them. They both sighed in resignation and he brought a reassuring hand up to grip the back of Zeb's head. "We have the  _ worst _ timing, don’t we?" 

"Yep. What a pair we are, eh?" Zeb agreed. 

“Let’s get some sleep before daybreak.” Kallus reluctantly pulled away from Zeb as he went in search of the thermal blankets. 

One of the storage compartments folded down into a utilitarian cot right at the back of the ship. He threw the blankets down upon it and noted the dropping temperature of the space. Without the minimal life support, aka the heaters, it was beginning to get a lot chillier than before. He could see his breath now. 

From the readings he  _ was _ able to gather, running the remaining powercell at minimal parameters for heat, their clothing and thermal blankets should keep their body temperatures safe during the night, not to mention the shared body heat they were sure to get. The cot was small, but not enough they couldn’t both fit comfortably; especially if they were pressed together, he mused. On missions such as this, it was usually customary to take shifts. But right now, they were both exhausted and needed the rest for the upcoming journey. So Kallus said to hell with regulations; he was a rebel now after all.

He watched as Zeb finished taking off his armor and when he set his bo-rifle down and looked at him again, Kallus smirked, making a show of eyeing the cot. 

“Oh dear, Garazeb, there is only  _ one bed _ , whatever shall we  _ do _ ?” He said sarcastically. Zeb let out a bark of laughter as he sidled up next to him, throwing an arm over his shoulder as they both stared at the uncomfortable looking makeshift bed. 

“You finally got that sense of humor.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~


	2. The Olfactory Ones

~~~~~~~~~~~

Sleep had taken Zeb out like a blow to the head. He really wanted to enjoy more time awake and curled around his companion, snuggled all cozy in the cramped cot with thermal blankets wrapped around them like a cocoon. It ultimately proved too comfy, either that or he was just that tired, because before he knew it he was asleep. 

He awoke sometime later. Had it been minutes? Hours? He didn’t know. There was considerably more light coming in, the blanket draped over their heads a lighter tint than when they had first settled in together. 

Waking with someone in his arms was a foreign feeling, but at the same time it felt as natural as breathing. The human slept quietly, the steady in and out of his breath the only sound emanating from him. Zeb raised the arm not trapped beneath Kallus' head and gently ran his fingers through the golden locks he practically had his face pressed against. They were messy and loose and still soft even after all they had been through. He was mindful of the bump near the back of his head where he had smacked it against the ship in the crash. 

The motion soon roused his Alexsandr, his  _ Alex _ , from his sleep, the human taking in a sharp and quick breath, his muscles tensing slightly. He hadn't meant to wake him, he just couldn't help but do something he had longed to do for a while now.

"You can go back t’sleep, we both need the rest," Zeb purred low into his hair, the locks tickling his nose and lips in a delightful way. It reminded him of when he was a young boy on Lasan, curled up for a nap in the dry, straw-like grass of the lowlands near the sea. Kallus’ hair was the same hue, he realized with a smile. 

"Mmm, we also both  _ need _ the fuel pod if we ever hope to leave this planet," Kallus replied, his voice surprisingly clear, if not for a light rasp. His face turned a fraction to speak over his shoulder, "and the sooner we leave, the sooner we can find somewhere  _ warm _ and  _ kriff eachother's brains out _ ." 

Zeb wondered if it was too soon to say he was in love. Why he hadn't gotten the nerve to do something sooner was his only regret. 

He pressed closer, his free arm slipping from the hair that he was stroking down to his waist. With a mindful tug, he brought their bodies even closer and held him there. “I’m liking this eloquent talk of yours.” 

“I’d much rather be  _ shut up _ right about now.” The human shifted around in his arms and soon he was face to face with a blushing former-Imperial, nimble hands and strong arms wrapping over his shoulders as eager lips sought his own.

He had never thought he would be a kissing sort of fellow, but he found he kinda  _ really _ enjoyed it. Humans did it enough, and so did other species, so adopting the ritual seemed only natural if he were to pursue a relationship with his prospective mate. Zeb had been embarrassed about it when Rex had stumbled upon him doing research on the holonet, but now he was glad for it. 

Zeb needed a change of angle, so he pressed further into Kallus and braced himself on the edges of the cot and tugged him so that he was completely underneath him. He was careful of his weight, but Kallus didn’t seem to be minding all that much as their legs tangled together. Zeb recoiled one foot that peeked out from the blankets, the cold of the room stark compared to the heat inside their pile. 

He practically tore his scarf off and spread open the collar of Kallus' snowsuit and rubbed their necks together as best he could, chins and cheeks sliding and rolling in the Lasat version of a kiss. Kallus was pliant and accepting, a moan chasing the end of an exhale. Somewhere deep in his biology, his instincts sang in primal glee.  _ Ashla _ , did it feel good to scent someone else, and for that someone to accept and respond so well. 

“Are you scenting me?” Kallus asked breathlessly into his ear, as if reading his mind. He must have picked up on Zeb’s excitement. 

“Yeah, ya like it?” 

“ _ Yes _ ,” Kallus answered adamantly and Zeb’s heart drummed harder in his chest. “I wasn’t sure before, when… when I was researching it. I think Rex was  _ very _ confused when he walked in on me watching those holos.” 

Zeb chuckled lightly into his neck but internally he howled in laughter. What a pair they were indeed! And poor Rex, the guy seemed to have the worst timing. 

He kissed Kallus in appreciation, open-mouthed and full of passion and he responded in kind. He wanted to scent him more now, but both of their clothes didn’t leave but so much room. Zeb pulled up and panted, bracketing the human beneath him and growled, "Karabast but I want to tear these clothes off'n ya." 

As if he were about to make it true, Zeb raked a clawed hand down his front. Even through the layers, the effect was evident. The human practically bowed under him. 

"We'd freeze to death in a matter of hours," Kallus cautioned, though he did not sound wholly convinced that that was a bad thing.

"We could do  _ a lot _ in a matter of hours," Zeb nuzzled his cheek against his own with affection. 

"And what a glorious death that would be," Kallus lamented, both his arms encircling Zeb's torso and dragging across fabric as fingertips made their way across his back. Just the thought of those strong fingers running blunt nails against his exposed fur had him lightheaded with a surge of want. 

Zeb growled deep and flung himself up, sitting back on his knees, the blankets pooling around them. Stopping; they needed to  _ stop _ . The icy air hit him and he begged the Ashla it would act like a cold shower. He looked down at Kallus, flush and disheveled in a way he had never seen him before, and it was fuzzy to try and think about doing anything other than bending back down into that welcoming body.

Stopping! Remember, Zeb? He was now half tempted to shove a handful of snow down his own front to get himself to concentrate and cool down. 

"Let's go!" Zeb exclaimed helplessly, his voice almost in a panic. 

"G-go-?"

"I can't wait much longer.  _ I need you _ . And to  _ get _ you we need to be off this ice cube, and for that we need the fuel pod, and for  _ that _ we need to be out! There!" 

Kallus stared at him, his face only bewildered for a moment before he shook his head and caught up. He sat up on his elbows and threw him a pointed look, his brows furrowed in frustration, looking particularly cross. "Then get off me you fool!" 

Sexy  _ and _ scary, that was his Alex. Zeb deposited himself from the cot, sensing that if he wasn't fast enough that he would be thrown. He shivered, torn away from the warmth of the cot and blankets and his mate, even if he was grumpy at that very moment. He grabbed his scarf from where it had fallen with the blankets, throwing it on and beginning to attach his armor. 

Kallus hissed and rubbed at his bad leg as he sat on the edge of the cot. He didn't linger long on his pain and Zeb watched as he pulled on his boots quickly and finally stood to check on the powercell that had kept the compartment  _ survivable _ , certainly not warm. Zeb could tell from the distance that it was nearly depleted. Kallus turned the powercell off and went to retrieve the hovercart from the compartment it was folded into. 

As they finished getting ready, packing a few bits of supplies into a rucksack and taking turns in the refresher, Zeb realized they made a very efficient team, even if they were both sexually frustrated at the moment; at least they were sexually frustrated together. 

"Kal," Zeb called and the human looked up and caught the ration bar he chucked at him. In the past, Zeb had thought they were as different as black and white, but now he realized they were simply complementary. Still very different but at the same time not, more alike than initially thought. They meshed well and he was profoundly happy they were taking the next step together. "Ready?"

"Very." Kallus nodded and they both headed to the airlock door to begin their trek across the frozen wasteland. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

There was that smell again, something faint being carried on the wind. It was hard to say exactly what it resembled. To say it smelled like the warning of danger wasn't specific enough; too vague. Something deep in his instincts told him to be alert, but other than that it just smelled like a mineral-rich, old glob of bile. 

Kallus was on point and sloughing through the light snow, the supply pack on his back, that ridiculous hat upon his head. Covering up that hair was just a shame, but he would endure, especially with the promise of being able to touch and smell it all he wanted once their mission was over. If he wasn’t so tired from walking for two blasted hours, he probably would have been smiling about that still. Zeb had the rear in their two-man line, dragging the lead for the hovercart behind him. 

They had chosen a small ridge that led to the hill, the excess snow from the storm scarce along the rocky, sinuous trail. It was a bit longer a distance, but the snow was sure to be deeper in the valley that led in a straight line to their destination. 

The sun was up and it was daylight, but there was a dense layer of low clouds lining the atmosphere above, throwing a wind to the air, small flakes of snow still drifting down from the sky. It was definitely colder than Bahryn, the coldest place Zeb had been to so far in his life, and that was many. He was thankful for his fur  _ and  _ for the ill-fitting snowsuit. Even his feet, that were usually very good at taking a beating and acclimating to all climates, were beginning to feel a bit chilled. He had never worn foot covers before, but if the Rebellion decided to build their base here, he might have to look into them.

They were almost there, the hill now looking like a proper mountain as it loomed across his vision. Kallus had stopped to look through the macrobinoculars, trying to spot any evidence of the fuel pod. 

“Anything, Kal?” Zeb asked. He had many nicknames for Alexsandr Kallus, and many of them were secret ones he used to only say in his head. Now that they were official, he felt he had full freedom to say any of them that he wished. Well, ‘hawt Kallus’ and ‘sweet cheeks’ were still going to have to be a secret. For now. 

“If there was any evidence of our crash or our fuel pod ejecting, I’m afraid the storm last night covered it. And the heat signature setting is being thrown off by something.” Kallus snapped the macrobinoculars back to his hip and turned to fully face him, his breath visible puffs in the air. 

He had been favoring his right leg, the bad one, for at least a mile, but never had he slowed. The human had endurance; yet another thing he admired about him. “We’re close to where I saw the blip last night. Surrounded by other blips.” 

“Stay sharp then,” Kallus said and pulled the blaster from it’s holster on his leg.

Zeb couldn’t ready his bo-rifle, as his arm was still dragging the hovercart. He was confident, however, that if needed he could have it out and ready in an instant, the weapon long ago becoming like a third appendage. 

They continued on, cautious but at a fast pace. Zeb felt a vibration underfoot just faintly. He had almost missed it since his toes were practically numb and freezing, but the hair between his toes prickled in warning. The shaking intensified and his ears twitched as he practically  _ heard  _ something crack and shatter right below them.

“Alex!” He tried to warn, but was too late as the ground gave out from under them and they fell several feet into a hole. They were buried under a heap of snow, dirt and ice chunks. 

Zeb was momentarily stunned, the weight around him pressing against his back and legs. He used his powerful arms to push the debris off himself and his claws dug into the ground below and he  _ pulled  _ himself forward and out.

Dust was in his eyes and he relied on his ears to hear for the coughing and sputtering of Kallus a few feet from him. He blinked his eyes several times to dislodge the particles obscuring his vision and shook his entire body, his short fur fluffing under his clothes.

Kallus sat upright, shaking sand and snow from his hair and clothing. He paused and touched his head again and looked up at him, a strange look on his face. Zeb frowned. “You alright, Alex?”

A pause. 

“I lost my hat,” Kallus said in an uncharacteristically pitiful voice, eying the pile they had just crawled from, and then back up to him. 

“Good  _ riddance _ ,” Zeb grumbled and threw his arm out for emphasis. Then he shot him a big, toothy smile that proved too infectious for Kallus to ignore. 

Soon they were both laughing their adrenaline off, Zeb helping him from the ground and placing their foreheads together for a good solid minute. He was very relieved to see him unhurt from the fall. Humans were strong and durable beings but surprisingly fragile at times. 

“How’s that pretty head, then?” 

“A bit cold, actually, but fine,” Kallus said in a chuckle, the warm breath tickling his lips. 

Zeb knew he was joking but he brought both his hands up and soothed over his hair and head from brows to neck, petting the strands back from falling in his face. He took care to remove all the debris that he could from his precious Alexsandr's head and warm his ears with his palms. He planted a grateful kiss on his forehead; humans liked that, he was pretty sure. When he pulled a bit away, he noticed an  _ unfortunately  _ very familiar emotion on his mate’s face. 

“I don’t deserve you, Garazeb Orrelios.”

This was not the first time he had seen his friend’s guilt rear its ugly head. It was, however, the first time since they were together. Now he could say everything he couldn’t before, properly show him what they both deserved: eachother. 

“Don’t you start that!” Zeb scolded, plopping their foreheads together again, as if he could physically transfer his thoughts and affirmations into him. “I mean it! You don’t get to decide that for yourself anymore now. I’m yours, you’re mine.  _ I  _ deserve you, so you deserve me. That’s what being my mate  _ really _ means. Got that?” 

Kallus was quiet for a while before saying with soft adoration, “yes, my Zeb."

“My Alex,” Zeb replied firmly, as if finishing the end of a good story. 

The grit of the dirt still lingering on their skin made the slow and meaningful kiss he gave him all the more intense. Desperate hands clung to his neck and shoulders as he tried to show him that he truly was his. 

Kallus was the first to pull away, but only enough so he could watch his own hands loosen the scarf around Zeb's neck. When it was open enough, Kallus tugged at his own collar, unzipping it enough to expose his neck. Zeb was shocked that the sight of him doing that alone could have his blood close to boiling already. 

Their necks and cheeks collided with a clumsy fumble as Kallus had to try to angle up and pull Zeb down for them to connect properly for the Lasat version of a kiss. The scenting didn't go as long as he had hoped, but enough to lessen something restless inside him. 

"Alright, let's see what this place is," Zeb said and patted at one of Kallus' cheeks, the thick sideburns smooth under his thumb. His partner was usually unshaken and confident in most situations but Zeb felt he needed to take some of that burden from him. Even though he had his own issues, he wanted to be the anchor and support for him always. 

"Looks like a passage," Kallus replied.

Zeb agreed. What he had first thought was a hole they had fallen into was in fact a tunnel of sorts. It appeared to be naturally occuring, but judging by the tracks he now noticed and the  _ smell _ , it was obvious it was well-traveled by some kind of creature. Actually,  _ creatures  _ was a better word, as the number of tracks pointed to a herd. 

"Think  _ whatever _ they are are dangerous?" Kallus asked, retrieving his blaster from the ground. 

"Maybe. Though since they travel together, maybe not. Most predators stick to themselves." He then thought,  _ or in pairs, like those ice lizards on that moon of ours.  _

“It’s too steep to climb back out. We should follow the passage. There must be a way back out to the surface.” Kallus then turned around on the spot and looked panicked. “Where’s the hovercart?” 

Zeb tensed. “Karabast!” He turned back to the debris littered across the floor from the cave in and retrieved half of what was left of the cart. 

“Damn,” Kallus agreed and ran a hand through his hair. 

Zeb threw the broken pieces back to the ground and clapped a hand on his mate’s shoulder. “We’ll find a way. C’mon, let’s get moving.”

They followed the passageway for a few minutes, noting that there were relatively no deviations from the singular crevice into the mountainous hill. The walls were made from either a pale dense material that resembled wavy limestone, or dark soot-colored stones compacted with frozen, dirty ice. The ceilings got higher and soon a natural slit began to pierce the very edge to let in filtered light. 

“Feels warmer,” Kallus pointed out and Zeb had noticed that too. His body was a bit better at regulating his body temperature, more than a human’s that is, so the change had been barely noticed, until Kallus had said something.

Then Zeb noticed the green and muddy-purple growth along the walls. It looked like moss or some kind of fungus. The smell of the animals got stronger the further they went, the vein of organic growth soon taking up entire portions of the wall that got the most sunlight from the crack above. 

A sudden bleat from ahead stopped them both. High-pitched garbling and whines followed and shuffling could be heard. Kallus raised his blaster and crouched behind a protrusion from the floor just at the edge of a sharp corner. Zeb drew his own weapon from his back, extending the handles for the rifle configuration, and took the flanking side of the tunnel. 

Kallus lowered his weapon after he finished peering around the corner. He waved Zeb over and stood to fully walk into what now appeared to be a cavern. It was similar in shape to the crevice they had been traveling in but wider and more akin to a grotto. 

The curved walls were high and made mostly of the light colored stone material, stalactites of opaque white hanging from above, mostly gathered near the opening in the ceiling. Along the far wall, where the curve of the space touched the ground, there were steaming vents blowing upwards, the majority of the plant and fungal life concentrated in this area. This was also where more than a dozen strange looking animals were gathered, grazing and licking at the walls. 

They were probably double the height of a human, mostly bipedal from what he could observe. The forearms were small and didn’t seem functional, but the back legs were strong and meaty with intimidatingly clawed feet. Their heads were boxy and big, giant double nostrils flaring as they breathed and chewed. Two curved horns twisted up from thick cheeks behind a pair of beady eyes. They were covered in messy, matted white fur that coated their body from their small external ears to the sinuous tail that kept the beasts balanced. 

There was a hiss from Kallus and Zeb looked to him silently. He pointed to the opposite end of the moss-covered wall and he followed his finger to a pile of white snow and a square object peeking out from one side. 

The fuel pod! 

It appeared that it had fallen through the fissure in the ceiling and landed into the cavern. They were two lucky sons-of-Hutts to have fallen into a random hole and ended up finding what they were looking for. Now, he hoped their luck continued and it was undamaged and still full of fuel.

There was an angry bleat from the other side as soon as they began their way across the cavern. The creatures had spotted them and were now in an uproar about the strangers invading their feeding grounds. A few brave ones took to defending the herd, stamping their feet and twisting their heads back and forth to show off their ridged horns. 

“Don’t shoot, they may stampede at us,” Kallus warned. 

“Then what do we do, cuz they don’t look happy!” 

“They  _ look  _ like a species of domesticated livestock from Onderon. If they are anything like those, they are easily tamed and generally docile.” Kallus was stepping slowly towards the creatures. The anxiety of needing to keep his mate safe blared warnings to his muscles and he followed close behind him. 

“We’re not  _ on  _ Onderon. These could be their evil twin-species or something.” 

“Just trust me,” Kallus said, his voice staying calm and low. 

“Always do,” Zeb responded, watching him carefully and copying his slow and easy steps. They made their way to the far end of the larger wall, the herd conglomerated to the opposite end, their agitated state calmed slightly when they saw that they had made no attempt to attack them. 

“We have to show them we are herbivores too,” Kallus finally explained as he touched the wall and pulled a piece of lichenous stalk from a large cluster. Zeb narrowed his eyes at him, dumbfoundedly staring at him. 

“You’re joking!  _ Seriously _ ?”

“You said you  _ trusted  _ me!” Kallus suddenly looked scandalized. The hand holding the leaf-thing fisted and grumpily collided with his hip, his mouth hanging open. With his other hand still holding his blaster loosely at his side, he made quite the sight. Zeb almost broke into laughter.

“I’m not licking that wall!” 

“I didn’t say  _ lick  _ it! You can  _ pretend  _ can’t you?” 

“Yeah, I can pretend alright!” A massive purple paw hit a slimy wall and he pulled a jelly like substance from it and opened his mouth wide and made a comical face as he brought it closer and closer. Kallus watched him, a provoked look to his golden eyes, daring him to continue. 

Kallus, not looking away, grabbed more lichen from the wall and also started to bring it up to his mouth. His lips parted and he looked like he was about to snarl, his teeth opening a fraction to allow a bit of the substance between them. Zeb’s tongue lapped out and the tip hit the end of the big glob. 

They simultaneously made a disgusted face and spat out the offending tastes from their mouths, tossing the bits from their hands onto the floor. It was also then that they realized the animals had now gone back to their own eating, only occasionally raising their heads to eye at them. They were obviously no threat to them. 

“Can’t believe that worked!”

“I  _ said  _ to trust me,” Kallus grumbled. “Now, if that fuel pod is in working order, we will need to see about getting a couple of these creatures to help pull it back to the ship.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Zeb replied and smacked his lips unpleasantly, before looking over at Kallus as he holstered his weapon. “Hmm, but first I’ve  _ got  _ to get this taste outta my mouth. C’mere…”

“Don’t you  _ dare _ , Garaz-” Kallus was cut off as Zeb trapped him against the wall and smothered his lips with his own. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

As it turned out, the animals favored Zeb to Kallus, which bewildered him beyond anything. Most other creatures didn’t like him at all; didn’t like his face, didn’t like his smell. Not these things. 

Kallus had said it was perhaps his purple complexion and green eyes that made them like him. His fur and stripes resembled the same colors as some of the lichenous growth, and his eyes the same hue as some of the algae masses near the steam vents. “Great, they want to eat me,” Zeb had complained, to which Kallus had reassured him that maybe they just wanted to  _ lick  _ him, that’s all. He could be right cheeky, his Alex. 

The fuel pod was, thank the Ashla, fully intact and only superficially damaged. Not a single leak, either. Zeb had coaxed two of the most amenable creatures over to it and Kallas had used the rope from his pack to make a pulling harness that would share the weight between two of them. 

When they had finally set out on the journey back to the ship, the creatures were hesitant, unused to the extra weight and bindings. It took quite a bit of friendly pets and soothing voices to get them to cooperate, but they finally did in the end. They were curious and eager to please if it meant kind pats and ration bars. 

Zeb had even gotten to try and ride one, to see if it was possible. A couple had bucked him off, but one had let him mount it's back and ride it around the cavern slowly while Kallus watched on with a smirk. A human couldn't hope to hold on without some kind of saddle, but a Lasat's body was practically designed for it. He wondered how fast they could go. 

They had all barely fit through a low tunnel that led to the outside. The clouds had cleared a bit, a steady wind still carrying small bits of snow in it as it whipped across their clothing and faces.

The conversation they had on the way back was about what they would tell the Rebellion about the 6th planet in the Hoth system. Truthfully it was mostly Kallus talking aloud as he compiled the information. 

"The steam vents indicate a warm planet core. If these creatures can survive then we can too if we can find a cavern system big enough. Night temperatures are dangerous, but not if we situate over some of those heat fissures." Kallus was punching in his findings on a data pad, which Zeb had  _ no idea _ where he had pulled from. 

"I really hope they don't pick it. It's too cold!" Zeb complained, the trek back seeming to be twice as far as before. 

"Better than a volcanic planet like Mustafar. Way too hot," Kallus said, still punching in notes on his data pad. 

"Pfft, can you imagine? A Rebel base there! It would be the  _ last _ place they would look."

"Either that or Tatooine. There were rumors Vader himself hated the place." Kallus sighed. "But in all honesty, this place  _ is _ a perfect candidate for a base. I don't like the idea of the cold either but it may be a small sacrifice for the benefits of this world." 

Zeb sighed as well, a big puff of breath billowing from his lips into the cold air. They were almost to the ship, he could see it just ahead. Kallus furiously punched at his data pad with more gusto and Zeb raised a curious brow at him. 

"Why are you doing that  _ now _ , Kal?"

"I'm doing this  _ now _ because once we are in the air and back to Rebel Command, I have every intention of doing nothing but sit on your lap and kiss you senseless." He said all this without looking up. "Among  _ other _ things."

Zeb gulped, not missing that he had copied his words from the night before.  _ Yep you write that report Alex _ , he thought,  _ you finish that up  _ real _ quick _ . He was a clever one, his mate, always thinking ahead. 

With this promise in mind, when they arrived at the ship, Zeb unlatched the fuel pod from the two animals and tried to shoo them away as quickly as he could. They lingered around, curiously sniffing the ship and awaiting more ration bar snacks. 

“Go on you smelly things!” Zeb roared at them when one sniffed at his ear. He was certain it would probably start nibbling if he wasn’t too careful. He resembled their food, after all. 

“Don’t taunt them, they’ll wander away eventually,” Kallus told him from his perch at the back of the ship, where he was shoveling ice and snow out of the compartment for the fuel pod. 

“I’m not taunting them, they’re taunting  _ me _ ! Get away, taunting  _ taunters _ !” Zeb grabbed one of the creature’s horns and pushed it back a few feet. The lumbering thing didn’t seem bothered and only warbled in it’s common vocalization at him.

“Zeb, come on, leave them be and help me get this clear,” Kallus called. 

Zeb was just turning to go help Kallus, when a gust of wind brought  _ that scent _ to his nose again. This time, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. 

The two  _ taunters  _ both made a bleat of warning and began to circle in place and look agitated. One threw his snout to the wind, and both sets of nostrils breathed in deeply. It whined low and then took off down the embankment at a speed that surprised him. The other one followed suit. 

That was his only warning to the surprise attack from the other side of the ship. All he saw was a blur of creamy white and sharp points of black before he ducked. He whirled, trying to get a look at what had tried to take his head off, reaching for his bo-rifle strapped to his back. He had to abort that move in favor of catching two huge paws in his own hands as they lunged for him.

The monster roared in his face, that putrid smell of sandy bile hitting him hard as he stared into a razor-toothed mouth chomping and snarling at him. It was a monstrous thing, double the mass of a wookiee but just as hairy. He didn’t dare release those claws from his own grip, knowing the second he did, he would be done for. It was a wrestling match, one he could never hope to win, not alone at least. 

“Zeb!” Kallus exclaimed behind him, desperately. 

A blaster shot sizzled over his shoulder and he winced because it had almost hit him. Instead, it hit the creature in one of its horns, only scorching the bony material and enraging it further. He struggled with keeping his feet grounded, he kept having to reposition and adjust in a dangerous dance of survival. He knew Kallus couldn’t get a clean shot with the unreliable blaster. 

“My bo-rifle, Alex!” He cried through the strain. Kallus didn’t hesitate and he felt him unlatch the weapon from his back and extend it fully. In a last ditch move, since his muscles were about to give out and he trusted Kallus to act quickly, he pushed forward and then rolled backwards, his back hitting the snowy ground, giving him momentum to try and fling the creature over his head with his feet. 

The move was  _ almost _ successful. The feet of the creature were just as clawed as the hands, and in the move, it flailed just enough to kick him down his chest. In the back of his mind, he knew the chest armor had  _ mostly  _ protected him, but a wave of panic shot through him when he felt the lacerations skid down through fabric and into flesh. 

Zeb rolled over and looked up just in time to watch as Kallus flew in from the side and swung the bo-rifle down hard against the skull of the beast, his posture anchored and strong, even in the snow. 

A high, garbled wail sounded from the creature as it hit the ground and blood splashed from its jaw. Kallus made a growl of his own as he then ignited one end of the bo-rifle, the purple crackling energy a stark contrast to the surrounding white snow. He circled behind it and drove the end hard into the neck and shoulder of the hairy creature, shaking its body hard. The thing roared and scrambled away from them, avoiding the searing pain. 

Kallus shut the energy end off and in a smooth transition he flipped it back to rifle mode. The base slid in a perfect alignment with the crook of his shoulder and he began to fire shots at the beast, advancing towards it with a confident and sure stride. 

The  _ Warrior  _ indeed, Zeb thought as he was momentarily mesmerized by  _ his _ Alexsandr Kallus in full-on battle mode. He was strong, efficient, downright  _ perfect _ . Zeb  _ also _ thought it was a very inappropriate time to get  _ very _ turned on about this. Karabast, he was halfway there already, and that was saying something since his blood was also free flowing to other places, like  _ out  _ of him. 

The creature took a hard hit of rifle fire to its side and rolled down the small embankment, kicking up snow on its descent. Kallus continued to take shots, driving it away for good as it disappeared out of sight. Only then did Kallus turn and lock eyes with him. The sudden rush of emotion and pure  _ want _ caught in Zeb's throat, leaving him speechless. 

Kallus approached him quickly, raking his eyes up and down across his body, probably to see how injured he was. He lingered worriedly on the blood staining the front of him. The slashes did in fact hurt and sting, but that was the last thing on his mind at this particular moment. 

He thinks Kallus said something to him, asked if he was alright, but all he could focus on was how he was holding the bo-rifle in his sure and strong arms. When he was close enough and reaching out to help him up, he finally snapped out of his haze. 

Zeb ignored the hand completely and surged to his feet and grabbed Kallus by the waist to pull him into his arms. He buried his face into his neck, digging his flat nose into the bit of skin peeking out of his snowsuit. Kallus’ pulse was still strumming hard, adrenaline flowing in his system, sweat building and mixing with the fresh falling snow.

" _ By the Ashla _ , you smell like pure...  _ karabast _ , I don't know the word in basic." Zeb had to taste that skin and proceeded to lap  _ right _ at the pulse point under his chin. The jump of the pumping vein against his sensitive tongue spiked his arousal into overdrive. 

“You're bleeding," Kallus pointed out, his voice rough and gravelly, breathless and worried. 

"Don’t care,” Zeb held him in place as he sucked at his throat. He had to let him know what it was for him, how irresistible he was. “Your smell, your taste, it’s like... like the moment before orgasm.” 

Zeb nearly sobbed with fulfillment when he  _ felt  _ the full body shiver of his mate against him. The breath Kallus took in trembling rapture sang into his ringing, sensitive ears. They were sharing this, Kallus and him, and he wanted to share more, he wanted to share _ everything _ . 

"I understand, my dear, I  _ do _ ,” Kallus pleaded, his voice wrought with emotion, “but  _ please,  _ let’s just get out of here.” 

Zeb doesn’t remember much after he tore himself away from Kallus. In his memory, it was always a blur of events; he must have gone into autopilot to complete everything. They attached the fuel pod back in place, then they wrenched the airlock doors open again. Kallus zoomed around him and powered up the systems of the ship, flooding the small space with a sudden warmth. The inertial dampeners didn’t seem strong enough, and when they lifted into the air, Zeb stumbled into his seat and closed his eyes to wash the feeling of vertigo away.

He promptly passed out.

~~~~~~~~~~~

He awoke to the smell of bacta. It always made his nose crinkle, and his ears twitched when he felt the cool and uncomfortable slide of it across his chest fur. He blinked slowly, his eyes opening to the lovely sight of Kallus’ head tilted and concentrating on his task below, applying the bacta to his wounds. 

Kallus was out of his snowsuit and in his regular attire, minus his usual jacket, and seated on a tiny stool close to his side, where he was sprawled and slumped in the co-pilot’s chair. He was angled enough to allow the room for Kallus to work over him. 

It was downright  _ warm  _ in the cabin, and Zeb noticed that he too was out of his snowsuit and stripped down to his jumpsuit only. Though, even that was undone and peeled from the top of his body to allow access to his cuts. Still, it was very warm. Kallus must have the heaters on full blast and he didn’t blame him one bit. 

The swirling stars outside the viewport told him they were already in hyperspace and on their way back to Rebel Command. They made it. They had completed their mission. Also, he had completed a personal mission of his own. He was feeling  _ very  _ accomplished. 

“What could  _ possibly  _ be making you smile like that, besides the massive amounts of endorphins?” Kallus asked, without even looking up from his work laying on the adhesive patches across the biggest wounds with the bacta still soaking in. 

“ _ You _ , sweet cheeks.” Zeb bit his tongue. He couldn’t believe he let that slip out. 

Kallus snorted, but continued at his careful application of the strips, as if nothing out of the ordinary was said. Zeb was sure there was a big roll of the eyes though. When he was finished, he tossed the remainder of the medical supplies back into their container and set them aside. 

Then in a surprising move, he stood up and slid sideways into his lap and wrapped his arms over his shoulders to hold onto the chair’s back for support. His sudden proximity was welcomed, the heavy weight on his thighs not so much, but he could endure it since it meant having Kallus so close and so willing. His mate seemed confident in his choice of seat, but was also being mindful not to lean too heavily on the wounds he had just bandaged. 

Zeb turned his head and began to lay light kisses on the inside of the arms on either side of him. Everything began to feel even better when Kallus leaned in and bumped their heads together in their now familiar forehead nudge. 

“How long was I out?” Zeb asked quietly. 

“Just about two standard hours,” Kallus replied. “I don’t think you have a concussion. I think you just got lightheaded from the blood loss. And the exhaustion.”

“Thanks for patching me up, Kal.” 

“I don’t like to see you hurt, Garazeb.”

“I know,” Zeb said in earnest, not needing to elaborate that he could still see the pain and fear echo in his mate’s hard expression. Kallus also seemed to know not to dwell on it as he moved on to telling him the ship’s status. 

“Everything is back online, thanks to our repairs before we got the fuel pod back. There’s a few systems that will need replacement, but other than the airlock and some surface damage, we are running smoothly.”

“Good,” Zeb purred, thinking that description could be applied to them too. He wanted to lighten the mood and shift this to things he had been wanting to do for a long, long time. “You looked hot with my bo-rifle, did I tell you?”

“I didn’t need to be told. I could  _ feel  _ it,” Kallus said, his voice deeper.  _ That  _ was more like it.

Zeb ran a hand up his back and gripped at the back of his neck to pull him that fraction closer to lock their lips together. It was almost chaste in execution, and soon Kallus pulled back to rub their cheeks together, opting to go the Lasat route and scent him in favor of human kisses. There were no obstructions this time, they had full range to rub their necks together. Zeb’s eyes almost rolled into the back of his head, it felt so good. 

His nose inhaled against his neck and he savored the familiar smell. "Your scent always makes me think of the ocean. Salty and crisp. Like tree bark worn by sand and waves." Zeb took another big breath through his nose at Kallus' temple. "And on occasion like a rotting sea whale."

Kallus made an offended noise and flicked one of his ears. "Not my fault those  _ things _ smell so horrid." 

“I’ve been calling them  _ taunters  _ in my head. And at least they weren’t giant ice lizards.” 

“Yes, at least they weren’t giant ice lizards,” Kallus relented, and Zeb internally cheered that he didn’t correct him to say  _ Bonzami  _ again. 

Zeb’s hand blindly searched for the seat controls, until he found the recline button. The seat eased back, the weight on his thighs lessening as Kallus laid more prone across his body, tucked and draped across the majority of one side. It was far from comfortable, but better than it had been before. 

They were silent for a few minutes, enjoying the warmth of the cabin and their bodies. Kallus’ head rested right to the side of his own, his nose brushing his chin just above his patch of hair.

"Petrichor," Kallus said after a while.

"Pe- what?" Zeb asked, unsure what language he was speaking.

"Petrichor… your scent. To me it smells like petrichor," breathed Kallus in a hushed voice. He raised his head up from its resting point. 

Zeb looked into those beautiful golden eyes. "What's that mean? Not something bad is it? Cuz the others-" 

"No, no. Not bad. Just…"

Zeb hummed, bringing a hand up to play with the strands of hair falling in his face. Again, he was reminded of a warm breeze from the sea as he lay in a field of yellow grass from his childhood. "Describe it," he asked.

"It's like…" Kallus began, a hand petting his beard as he seemed to fish for the appropriate words. "Like the first drops of rain on a dry patch of earth."

Zeb grinned and turned his head into the human's neck, giving his skin a wet lick, followed by a full luscious kiss below his jaw. "Yeah?"

"It's musky and sharp _ , ah- _ "

Kallus gasped as Zeb used the tip of a fang to nip at his earlobe. He didn't break skin but soothed the area with a small, delicate lick anyway. "What else, luv?" 

That endearment earned Zeb a desperate puff of breath and a hand that now soothed across the softest fur at the base of one of his ears. "It's a  _ strong _ smell."

"Hmm," Zeb encouraged, now licking at the clavicle that peeked out from under his shirt. 

"Encompassing," Kallus’ voice trembled. 

Zeb didn’t care anymore  _ what  _ words he said, just as long as this continued where he was hoping it would. "Uh huh," he breathed out a hot breath against the shell of his ear and reached down to grab a handful of his ass. 

"Nos-talgic…” Kallus gasped as the word caught in his throat. 

With a swift movement and a hiss of breath, Zeb figured it was from moving his bad leg, Kallus straddled him. Two strong arms locked at the elbows above his head and knees dug against his waist in the cramped chair. The human was flushed a brilliant pink, hair tousled and chest heaving. That sight above him was downright glorious. The sight below, where they were both straining in their pants for each other was also pretty damn good. 

“Garazeb, if we don’t take care of  _ this _ ,” Kallus looked down pointedly, his voice on edge, “ _ soon _ , we’re going to have a  _ problem _ .” 

“Oh, I’m gonna take  _ care  _ of it alright. Gonna take  _ good  _ care of this problem,” Zeb promised, rising from the chair, lifting Kallus as he went, intended for the cot at the back of the ship.

Legs wrapped around him as he stood, arms gripping his shoulders and neck. Their chests collided and Zeb winced when the pain of his still healing wounds stung in reminder. Kallus noticed and before he could say any protest about it, he silenced him with a kiss, sure to be extra passionate. This human kissing thing sure came in handy when it occupied the talky part; he would have to remember that. 

Zeb was still a bit wobbly from his  _ nap  _ earlier, but the small detour they got snagged on against a compartment wall wasn’t completely unwelcomed. The wall provided a small relief from the weight of his mate as he clung tightly around him. 

The friction achieved in that position also had the human in his arms frantic, practically ripping his own shirt from his body, and kissing him with abandon. Zeb had hoped that, like some humans,  _ his  _ human would have fur on his chest, and he was not disappointed. He rubbed both sides of his face into that chest and practically purred his delight. 

He let Kallus down on his feet so he could pry his pants off. They weren’t stretchy like his and had clasps and buttons and zippers and  _ pockets _ . Karabast! His big clumsy fingers wouldn’t cooperate! He watched as the taut muscles of the human’s abdomen twitched as he finally manhandled the pants open, and he did his best to burn that image in his mind forever. 

He knew his mate needed it, so he immediately cupped a hand down and was mindful of his claws as he palmed at the straining organ. Kallus cried out against his mouth, hot and needy, and snaked a hand between them and began to return the favor. 

They never made it to the cot. 

~~~~~~~~~~~


	3. EPILOGUE

Hera Syndulla never thought she’d see the day when two beings would disembark from a ship  _ that  _ damaged, looking like they had fought their way through a warzone, and still have the rosy air of  _ we just had sex  _ on their faces. 

Kallus’ pants weren’t even fastened correctly, and she couldn’t recall Zeb’s fur ever being that  _ fluffed  _ before. They had  _ no  _ right to look  _ that  _ satisfied when the rest of their bodies looked like they had been through the trash compactor a few times. 

And did she mention the ship? The VCX model looked like it would just  _ fall apart _ at any moment. In fact, she was pretty sure a wing just clattered off on the side she couldn’t see. From where she stood at the ramp to the  _ Ghost _ , she was also certain they had to physically pry those busted-looking airlock doors open to get out.

It’s like they had gone to hell and back, and then decided to do a fly-by of the fiery pit once more just to put on a special show for the devil himself. They were filthy, clothes torn, stained and covered in blood and dirt and force knows what else. And when they got closer, oh dear, did they  _ smell _ . 

“I’m glad you two are back, and... almost in one piece. What in the world happened out there?” She asked. She didn’t know whether to be angry or impressed when Kallus answered her in an out-of-place professionalism. 

“We completed the scouting mission. Even considering the perilous asteroid belt throwing meteors at it, the planet is a good candidate for a Rebel base. The dangerously cold temperature will dissuade most from thinking anything alive is on the planet. Fissures from the planet’s core keep underground caverns and tunnels warm enough to support a small local flora and fauna. Though we did encounter a predator species, there are also other creatures that could be domesticated easily enough should the need arise. It’s all in my report,” Kallus finished with a clipped flick of his wrist, the datapad presented in front of her. 

She took it slowly, eyeing Zeb next. 

He tilted his head in Kallus’ direction, and winked at her. “What he said.” 

She narrowed her eyes at him before looking between the both of them. She honestly didn’t think it was possible that Zeb’s plan would work so soon. He had voiced his feelings about the ex-Imperial and what the best way to go about courting him was, and she had told him to just be honest and come out and say exactly what he wanted with him. She had a pretty good gut feeling Kallus had felt the same, especially the way she had caught him staring one day on base, when he thought no one was looking. 

Since Zeb was practically family, and she’d do  _ anything  _ to make her family happy, she had been sure both of their names had come up when command asked for suggestions of who to send. 

Also, she was tired of hearing Rex complain that if they didn’t get their act together soon he was going to throw  _ himself  _ out an airlock, muttering about privacy and bunks and common areas all the time. 

“You two should get cleaned up before the official debrief with Leia,” Hera suggested, trying to see any kind of confirmation that they were  _ officially  _ official, and not just her making an assumption.

“Great! Gonna borrow the ‘fresher for about an hour then,” Zeb announced breezily and she actually couldn’t agree more. 

“Better take two,” she insisted and he nodded. 

“Hehehe, alright.” 

Zeb and Kallus  _ both  _ walked up the ramp into the cargo bay, nonchalant and silent as they all took the ladder up. 

They didn’t seem awkward or embarrassed about anything so she didn’t point out the fact that they stood  _ very  _ close to each other, not an inch apart since she had seen them leave their ship and get onboard hers. Their arms or shoulders were always sure to be touching or brushing up against the other. They didn’t display anything explicit, like kissing or even holding hands, but she decided that was as close to confirmation that she would need that they were really together. 

Hera turned to walk towards the cockpit, parting ways with Zeb and Kallus. She heard the door to the refresher whoosh close. Then she heard a loud  _ thunk _ against the same door followed by only slightly muffled murmuring of Zeb and Kallus declaring what  _ exactly  _ they were going to do to each other in there. 

Her eyes widened,  _ almost _ scandalized at what she  _ was  _ able to hear. Officially official then. Her shocked face melted into a wry smile. Right now? She was just thankful they were getting clean. Anything else that happened in there was their business. 

  
  
  


~~~THE END~~~

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to visit me on TUMBLR and scream about Kalluzeb with me
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/sempaiko


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